How to Heal Cartilage Piercing Bumps

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Cartilage piercings on ears and noses are prone to getting "bumps" - small, raised scars around the exit holes of the piercing. Sometimes they are caused by loose or incorrect jewelry, by rough handling, or by piercing with a piercing gun. Often it is just bad luck. Although these bumps aren't dangerous, they can feel unpleasant and itchy. If you want to get rid of a cartilage piercing bump, you will have to have patience as they can take a while to disappear. However, if you are consistent, they should disappear within two to three months, and your piercing will be good as new. See Step 1 below to get started.

Make a compress using breathable tape. Using breathable tape to press down on the bump is an example of compression therapy. This method should only be used on fully healed piercings, as it could irritate those that are still healing. To use:

Buy some breathable medical tape (such as Micropore) at your local drugstore. Try to find a color that matches your skin tone.

Use a clean scissors to cut a small strip of the tape. It should cover the entire bump and about 1-2 mm of skin on all sides.

Tightly cover the bump with the strip of tape, so the bump feels compressed. Wear the tape continuously, replacing it with fresh tape when it begins to look grubby.

Use this method for two to three months. Hopefully, the bump will have disappeared after this time. If not, switch to a different method.

Community Q&A

No, don't remove it. The hole may close, trapping the infection inside and could make it worse. Keep the piercing on, and try to clean the area and take care of it. Otherwise, visit a professional piercer for advice, but keep your piercing on.

Is it ok to remove my earrings to thoroughly clean the pierced area before putting them back in while they are midway to healing?

Community Answer

Removing the earrings so soon can cause the holes to close. Wait until they have completely healed to remove the earrings. In the meantime, you can clean around the piercing with tea tree oil twice a day.

Butterfly backs are a common earring backing. They have thin pieces of metal curving towards the center--where the earring prong will go. If you turn one on its side, it will look like a heart or butterfly "wing."

It may take a while for any of these methods to start working so be patient, make sure you are consistent and regularly treat your ear otherwise you'll find that any slight improvement will go back to its original state.

Captive bead rings can be much easier to clean than studs and are much less likely to get caught or snagged. You can also get your cartilage pierced with a needle at most tattoo studios. This is the most hygienic and least painful method of piercing.

Warnings

Don't use Dettol, hydrogen peroxide, bleach, rubbing alcohol, or another harsh antiseptic to treat bumps. Though these solutions are great for killing germs, they can greatly irritate piercings.[5] If you must use Dettol or another such solution, dilute it with sterile boiled water to lessen its irritating effect.

If you get an infected piercing, do not remove the jewelry, this may be the only path of drainage, and removing it may cause a more serious infection and trap the existing infection inside your body. See a doctor, antibiotics may be necessary. A doctor may install a "wick" to keep the wound open for drainage if they need to remove the jewelry. After the infection is gone, it is safe to remove the jewelry if you no longer want the piercing.

Keloids are scars that grow beyond the perimeter of the piercing. They are usually darker than the surrounding skin, and can reoccur after being removed. People with darker skin, especially African Americans, are most likely to develop keloids. If you believe you have a keloid, consult a doctor or dermatologist.

About This Article

Co-Authored By:

wikiHow Staff Editor

This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Together, they cited information from 5 references. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article meets our high standards.

If you want to heal a bump on a cartilage piercing, hold a cotton ball soaked in hot salt water over the bump for about 2 minutes twice a day until the bump heals. You can also add chamomile tea to the salt water to soothe the skin around the piercing. If that doesn’t work and your piercing is fully healed, you can make a compress by pressing down on the bump with breathable medical tape. Regardless of the method you choose, it may take up to 2-3 months for the bump to heal, so be patient!

Reader Success Stories

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Anonymous

Mar 12, 2018

"Wish I had known some of this info years ago. I have had cartilage piercings for years, and never knew what to do when they started hurting or seemed infected. I never heard about the piercing gun being a bad thing. Your info will help me in the future."..." more

LS

Lizzy Shawes

Jun 5, 2017

"I have a bump on my cartilage piercing. I'm cleaning it with salt water, but I read the comments that you're not supposed to take off the piercing, so I might use honey now. Other than that, I think this helped me."..." more

AF

Ashley Fierro-Jordan

Jan 6, 2018

"What helped me was how it was put in steps. What I liked about this article was that it gave me a variety of options on how to clean my bump. "..." more

SH

Shabana Hassan

Jul 11, 2017

"I'm 16 and my cartilage was in pain even though I had it done 3 months ago. Now that I've read this and tried the tips, its helped so much!"..." more

Rated this article:

MD

Michelle D.

Jul 31, 2016

"I will definitely try some of these tips. Spraying with witch hazel and putting some organic coconut oil can help as well."..." more

SD

S. Dee

Jun 8, 2017

"Gave me multiple options to heal the bump, and let me know I should have researched it better before piercing the ear."..." more

Rated this article:

AS

Anna Sofie

Jul 8, 2016

"The article helped a lot! I was pretty worried about it, but the article gave me some good tips. Thanks!"

CM

Christina Maldonado

Sep 30, 2017

"Very easy steps to use at home, stuff I don't have to go out and buy or spend a lot on."